The rollout of life-saving defibrillators has taken place at a number of sites in East Ayrshire.
Two new public access defibrillators have been installed in Rankinston, at the community centre, and in Sinclairston, next to Belston Loch Fishery.
And five have been moved to the outside of council-run supported accommodation units (SAU).
Jess Duncan, chair of St John Scotland, Ayrshire and Arran, said: “When someone is in cardiac arrest, their heart has stopped working normally, and without action, they could die within minutes.
“While that can be a frightening prospect, we know that if someone nearby can start CPR while the ambulance is on its way, their chances of surviving dramatically improve.”
Around 70 people each week in Scotland have a cardiac arrest but, currently, only one in 10 survive.
Starting CPR as quickly as possible, and using a defibrillator where one is available, gives someone the best chance of surviving.
The installations have been accomplished through a collaboration between St John Scotland, East Ayrshire Council and community groups.
Five at the SAUs, which were previously housed indoors, have been moved into special cabinets on the outside of the buildings. They can be accessed 24/7.
Ms Duncan added: “We’re keen to work with communities across Ayrshire to not only increase access to defibrillators, but train members of the public in CPR and show them how easy it is to use a defibrillator.”
As well as helping to provide the defibrillators, St John Scotland volunteers provided a free training session in Rankinston this month.
Suzanne Clark, service manager at East Ayrshire Council Vibrant Communities, said: “The opportunity to work in partnership with St John Scotland has been a great experience and we will continue this partnership into the future, making connections with our community organisations and other partners.
"Having defibrillators in local spaces is a great asset to communities and will save lives.”
All seven defibrillators have been registered on the Circuit, the system used by the Scottish Ambulance Service, to direct members of the public to their nearest device.
The seven defibrillators are located at Rowantree Court, Drongan; Ross Court, Galston; Garven Court, Kilmarnock; Ellisland Court, Mauchline; Afton Court, New Cumnock; Rankinston community centre and Sinclairston, next to Belston Loch Fishery.
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